'They are vote bank': BJP accuses AAP of aiding Rohingya, Bangladeshi immigrants in Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party of aiding illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis in Delhi by providing them with official documents, allegedly to use them as a vote bank.

Former BJP Member of Parliament Parvesh Verma on Tuesday told PTI, "We all know they do not vote for the BJP... they are AAP's vote bank." Verma further alleged that once these illegal immigrants set up makeshift tenements (jhuggis) in the city, AAP leaders extended assistance to help them settle, making them eligible to vote in the elections."

“There is no immediate reaction from AAP regarding the BJP’s claims,” said a party spokesperson.

The BJP’s attack on AAP intensified after the party claimed that these illegal immigrants were being settled in the city with help from AAP leaders, who allegedly issued them documents like ration cards to facilitate their voting in elections.

Verma, who is preparing to contest the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls from the New Delhi seat, claimed to have identified areas in his constituency with a high concentration of such individuals.

He also filed a complaint with the district magistrate requesting action on the issue.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who is the sitting Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from New Delhi, took to X, alleging without naming anyone, "They have started buying votes in my constituency. Openly giving Rs 1,000 cash per vote."


Additionally, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva also charged that ever since the BJP demanded an investigation into the issue of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya voters in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal had become flustered.

He claimed these "illegal infiltrators were perhaps the foundation of AAP's victory in Delhi elections."

In a related development, a BJP delegation recently met Election Commission officials, alleging that illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshis had been registered as voters in Delhi at AAP's behest. Meanwhile, Delhi Police arrested 11 individuals on Tuesday, claiming they had uncovered a gang involved in the illegal immigration of Bangladeshi nationals.

Four of those arrested were Bangladeshi citizens, and the rest were allegedly involved in forging documents, an official confirmed.

Earlier this month, Aam Aadmi Party accused the BJP of settling Rohingya refugees in the city while publicly vilifying them.

In a statement, senior AAP leaders, including chief minister Atishi, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, pointed to a 2022 post on X by Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri as evidence of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) involvement in housing Rohingya Muslims in EWS (Economically Weaker Section) flats in Delhi's Bakkarwala area.

Also read: AAP accuses BJP of settling Rohingyas in Delhi; 'baseless rhetoric', says saffron party

(With inputs from PTI)

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